For the water, environmental and civil engineering industries

Gort and Spiddal Water Treatment Plants to receive €1.5m upgrade

Irish Water, working in partnership with Galway County Council, is investing €1.54 million to upgrade the Gort and Spiddal Regional Water Supply Schemes.

Coffey Water Limited has been awarded the contract and work is due to commence on site in the next couple of weeks with an estimated completion date at the end of September 2018.

This investment will benefit more than 5,000 customers and ensure both treatment plants can meet demand for treated water in their respective areas. The project will also ensure water is in compliance with current drinking water quality regulations and provide for future development needs in the two areas.

Commenting on the investment, Irish Water’s Capital Programme Regional Lead, Laura Heneghan said the current treatment processes at the Gort and Spiddal Water Treatment Plants require significant upgrade.

“These works will provide a more advanced treatment process to help mitigate against various contaminants and improve the quality of water supplied.

“In addition to upgrade works to the flocculation, coagulation, clarification and filtration processes, UV disinfection will be provided as a robust measure in alleviating the risk of cryptosporidium to the water supply,” she said.

Irish Water spent over €526 million on water services in 2017. Capital investment in the region of €700 million per year is needed for a sustained period of several decades to address the poor condition of Ireland’s water infrastructure.

Works have been prioritised to address the most critical issues in line with commitments outlined in Irish Water’s Business Plan up to 2021. Delivery of the business plan will involve a €5.5bn investment in capital spending on drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and new infrastructure up to 2021 while achieving efficiencies of €1.6bn.